2016 San Francisco 49ers season


The 2016 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 67th season in the National Football League, the 71st overall, the third playing its home games at Levi's Stadium, and the only season under head coach Chip Kelly. The season saw the 49ers attempting to rebound from their 5–11 record the previous year, but finished 2–14, with their only wins coming against their division rival Los Angeles Rams. The Niners also nearly became the first team since the 2001 Carolina Panthers to win their opener and lose the remainder of their games, prior to the Niners' Week 16 win over the Rams. The 49ers' record was their worst since 2004, when they also finished 2–14. The 49ers' 1–7 home record tied the worst home record in franchise history. As a result, the 49ers fired head coach Chip Kelly and general manager Trent Baalke.
The 49ers defense also set an NFL record by allowing a 100 yard rusher in seven straight games and easily finished last in the league in rush defense.

Offseason

Coaching changes

After the 2015 season ended, the 49ers fired Jim Tomsula as head coach. On January 14, 2016, the 49ers hired Chip Kelly as their head coach. Kelly had spent the previous three seasons as head coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and had been fired after a disappointing 7–9 Eagles season.

Roster changes

Free agency

The 49ers entered free agency with the following:

Signings

Departures

Draft

Notes

Undrafted free agents

Staff

Final roster

Preseason

The 49ers' preseason opponents and schedule were announced April 7, 2016.
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordGame siteNFL.com
recap
1August 14Houston TexansL 13–240–1Levi's Stadium
2August 20at Denver BroncosW 31–241–1Sports Authority Field at Mile High
3August 26Green Bay PackersL 10–211–2Levi's Stadium
4September 1at San Diego ChargersW 31–212–2Qualcomm Stadium

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Los Angeles Rams

Week 2: at Carolina Panthers

Week 3: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 4: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Week 5: vs. Arizona Cardinals

The 49ers wore their black alternate uniforms for this game as part of Color Rush.

Week 6: at Buffalo Bills

Days prior to Week 6, Head Coach Chip Kelly confirmed that quarterback Colin Kaepernick would start in place of Blaine Gabbert. This was Kaepernick's first start of the season.

Week 7: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 9: vs. New Orleans Saints

Week 10: at Arizona Cardinals

Week 11: vs. New England Patriots

Week 12: at Miami Dolphins

With the loss, the 49ers were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention for the third consecutive season. An attempted rally by the 49ers was stopped short of the end zone in the final seconds.

Week 13: at Chicago Bears

Week 14: vs. New York Jets

Week 15: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 16: at Los Angeles Rams

With the win, the 49ers snapped their 13-game losing streak and swept the Rams on the season, while going 0–13 against the rest of the league. With the Cleveland Browns standing 0–14 before this week, the 49ers win also ended the possibility of two teams finishing 1–15 for the first time, or becoming the first team since the 2001 Carolina Panthers to win their opener and lose the remainder of their games.

Week 17: vs. Seattle Seahawks

With the loss, the 49ers ended their season 2–14, their worst record since 2004. This was Colin Kaepernick's last game as a 49er.

Standings

Division

Conference